Volunteering Opportunities: Why don't you join us?

Anna DUK

Anna DUK

Online Community Team Leader
Staff member
Relationship to Diabetes
At risk of diabetes
Pronouns
She/Her
We're so excited to be recruiting for, not just one, but two volunteering roles to join the Diabetes UK Support Forum team.

We're looking for Hosts to provide a welcoming space for new members and Moderators to ensure members follow our user guidelines.

You can read more about the Hosting role here: Online Community Host | Diabetes UK Volunteering

And the Moderating role here: Online Community Moderator | Diabetes UK Volunteering

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to send me a private message. :D
 
I don’t want to do online but you reminded me I needed to email DUK back about something else.
Thanks for the reminder
 
Anna DUK said:
We're so excited to be recruiting for, not just one, but two volunteering roles to join the Diabetes UK Support Forum team.

We're looking for Hosts to provide a welcoming space for new members and Moderators to ensure members follow our user guidelines.

You can read more about the Hosting role here: Online Community Host | Diabetes UK Volunteering

And the Moderating role here: Online Community Moderator | Diabetes UK Volunteering

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to send me a private message. :D
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I did this role for quite a few years and received excellent support and training.
 
SB2015 said:
I did this role for quite a few years and received excellent support and training.
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And I've only ever heard good things about you. Thank you for the support you provided the community then, but still now too! :D
 
PhoebeC said:
I don’t want to do online but you reminded me I needed to email DUK back about something else.
Thanks for the reminder
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If you ever change your mind @PhoebeC just let me know. You'd be a good fit... 😉
 
Anna DUK said:
If you ever change your mind @PhoebeC just let me know. You'd be a good fit... 😉
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As one of the very first users of the forum, pre launch I should have some knowledge ha!
But I really can’t commit the time needed.
 
PhoebeC said:
As one of the very first users of the forum, pre launch I should have some knowledge ha!
But I really can’t commit the time needed.
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I was able to set the amount of time that I did have available and I was never made to feel that I should do more. They were just grateful for what I was able to do.
 
SB2015 said:
I was able to set the amount of time that I did have available and I was never made to feel that I should do more. They were just grateful for what I was able to do.
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This is true @PhoebeC! It'll be like now, when you're online but with additional 'behind the scene' functionality.
 
Anna DUK said:
This is true @PhoebeC! It'll be like now, when you're online but with additional 'behind the scene' functionality.
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I am actually in the very early stages of working on another volunteer opportunity. Now I have retired from rugby I need something else with people in person. No spoilers yet.
 
PhoebeC said:
I am actually in the very early stages of working on another volunteer opportunity. Now I have retired from rugby I need something else with people in person. No spoilers yet.
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Good luck :D
 
PhoebeC said:
I am actually in the very early stages of working on another volunteer opportunity. Now I have retired from rugby I need something else with people in person. No spoilers yet.
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I hope your new opportunity goes well and look forward to hearing more.
 
SkidooE said:
Hi Anna, how much time commitment are you needing for this role? Thanks 🙂
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Hi @SkidooE, we don't have a specific time commitment for these particular roles and leave it to the volunteer to decide how much time they'd like to commit (another great reason to volunteer!). There's no particular pressure to do a set or minimal amount of time per week or per month as we recognise life is full of ups and downs and it may be that some weeks you are able to give more time and other weeks less so. We are very flexible and accommodating! 😎:D
 
I have been moderating on the forum for a while now and it is not an onerous ask because the forum is such a friendly place largely because the moderators and admin keep it that way. It is something I am more than happy help with.

Part of the role, which many members will not even notice if we are good at it, is to remove as quickly as possible the sort of spam that plagues most forums and social media. We also react to posts that have been reported or give concern for one reason or another, sometimes by providing a "lay", i.e. non-DUK , perspective to any discussion amongst the admins and moderators about how best to resolve the trickier issues.

Other than that you can be a regular forum member, contributing your experience and learning from others.
 
Having been a mod on the Alzheimer's forum many moons ago, I can agree with DocB, and I'd urge anyone with a bit of spare time to go for it. I'm busy as a volunteer in an admin role for another society I'm a member of, so I don't really have the time to apply for the role myself.
Moderating is a really interesting job, weeding out the spam and (sometimes) having to keep the peace! Hope you find someone suitable soon Anna 🙂
 
Amazing to hear you used to be a mod at Alzheimer's @Vonny. You certainly are a busy bee, I know you have supported Diabetes UK in the past with sharing your story. ❤️
 
@everydayupsanddowns and I have spoken to a couple of lovely people in the last week about joining our moderating team, which I'm pleased went well. Both of the people we have already spoken to are not from our online community (they are not existing members here). We have a few more meetings coming up which we hope will be fruitful.

If you're a regular user here, it'll be great to understand what's holding you back from applying? ❤️ 🙂 ❤️
 
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Anna DUK said:
@everydayupsanddowns and I have spoken to a couple of lovely people in the last week about joining our moderating team, which I'm pleased went well. Both of the people we have already spoken to are not from our online community (they are not existing members here). We have a few more meetings coming up which we hope will be fruitful.

If you're a regular user here, it'll be great to understand what's holding you back from applying? ❤️ 🙂 ❤️
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Well….what is holding me back amounts to a couple of things….
- although I am keen to help people I feel I don’t know enough about the medical side of diabetes to help others
- also my recent absence from the site is because family health problems have occupied my mind. thankfully things have improved enormously
- when I was first diagnosed as pre-diabetic I found this site enormously helpful and supportive.
Am not sure if my lack of knowledge would be a good fit for you at the moment….

On another note I would like to say how much I appreciated the updates from the site on ‘What I might have Missed’ during my recent absence. They really kept me in the picture.
 
lizzieK said:
Well….what is holding me back amounts to a couple of things….
- although I am keen to help people I feel I don’t know enough about the medical side of diabetes to help others
- also my recent absence from the site is because family health problems have occupied my mind. thankfully things have improved enormously
- when I was first diagnosed as pre-diabetic I found this site enormously helpful and supportive.
Am not sure if my lack of knowledge would be a good fit for you at the moment….

On another note I would like to say how much I appreciated the updates from the site on ‘What I might have Missed’ during my recent absence. They really kept me in the picture.
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HI @lizzieK, thanks for responding. The great news is you don't need to know much about the medical side of diabetes, especially if you're looking in becoming a Host. A Host will greet our new members and encourage them to open up and share their questions and concerns with the community. You'd be helping new members to feel safe and welcomed, and hopefully feel happy enough to stick around for the peer support.

As a volunteer, we'd always ask for you to talk from your own experiences. You found the community after having been told you are at risk of diabetes and like many others, they also find themselves in a similar position, with a lot of questions or worries. You have your own experience of this and all the things you've done or changed since being told. Please don't feel you lack anything, your experiences are just as valid as everyone else's here. I'd welcome an application from you - it sounds like you have lots to give.

I'm sorry to hear of your family's recent health problems and how much that's left you concerned. Good that things have improved and I do hope they continue to do so.

Pleased to hear the emails updating you on what you've missed are well received. I think it's a great way to keep people in the loop when life becomes hectic.

Let me know if you have any questions off the back of what I have said. You can always send me a private message too if you like. ❤️
 
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